Book Reviews

Here are a few things I've been reading recently.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, Adult fiction, 2016

A friend at the gym highly recommended this book a couple of times, so I checked it out. It was popular several years ago, with good reviews and a couple of award nominations. There are readers' guides, Spark Notes, and plenty of information readily available about the book if you're interested.

The premise is interesting. Count Roscov is under house arrest in the hotel where he was living when the Bolsheviks took over Russia in 1922, because he was part of the "unrepentant" upper class that did not fit with the ideals of the new ruling party. The Count would be shot if he stepped outside the hotel. Also, he was moved from his luxury suite to the hotel's attic, which was at best minimal. 

We follow his life for the next 32 years in the hotel, where he goes from a free life of luxury and travel to a confined life in the hotel. The hotel has a barber shop, a bar, two restaurants, and a seamstress, among other things, so he can get his needs met there.  

Slowly, the Count comes to know about the people who work at the hotel and what goes on behind the scenes--especially when he meets nine-year-old Nina, who is also staying at the hotel. In one way or another, she continues to shape the rest of the Count's life.

I won't give away too much of the story, but the book weaves historical events and perspective with interesting personal stories. There are also philosophical discussions about life and world events that are examined by the Count.  

It is a beautifully written book with a touching story. I occasionally had trouble keeping the Russian names, Moscow geography, and historical events straight, but it only slightly distracted me from the story. I'm not sure I would call it the best book I've ever read, as some have said, but it was definitely a good read.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, Children's fiction (elementary age), 1908 (first published; many versions have been published since then).

A friend recently mentioned this book as one she reads again and again. Her words, "His evocation of the river and the woods never tires my reading." I thought I hadn't read it in a very long time or maybe never, so I added this to my list.

Wind in the Willows is considered a classic of British literature and is based on stories Grahame told his son. The book tells stories of Mole, Ratty, Badger, and Toad, who is always getting into trouble.  I would agree with my friend that the descriptions of nature are lovely. And the friendship between Mole and Ratty is very sweet. Toad can be annoying at times, but every story needs someone who stirs up trouble. 

The book has an older style of prose, with many sentences that are complex and of the length of paragraphs today. I wonder what it would be like if it were written today? It would certainly lose some of its charm, I think.

This is a classic children's book about the outdoors and animals, and right up my alley. However, to be truthful, I grew tired of it. However, I think it would work well as a bedtime story with a chapter/night.

Royal Spyness Mystery Series-#11, #12, #13

 The Royal Spyness books follow Georgie, 35th in line to the British Throne, in the 1930s, as she stumbles onto murder after murder. There are castles, rich people, royalty, and many class restrictions that surround the stories. Despite being royalty, Georgie has no money, which causes a set of problems all its own. The stories are in historically accurate settings, and humorous relief is provided by her inept maid, Queenie.

These books are as much about the characters and settings as the mysteries, and I reach for one of them while I am waiting on a hold or looking for a familiar comfort read. I have read three more in the series recently.

Crowned and Dangerous by Rhys Bowen, Adult Mystery, 2016

This is # 11 in the Royal Spyness mystery series.

Georgie finally meets her fiancé Darcy's father, who has been accused of murder. The father had to sell his castle and horse stables to a reclusive American to pay inheritance taxes. When the American is found dead, the FIL is the first suspect. There had been conflicts between the two about the horses, and the FIL was drunk and couldn't remember what he did the night of the murder.  Leave it to Georgie to have faith in Darcy's father and figure out the real murderer in the end. 

Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding by Rhys Bowen, Adult mystery, 2018

This is # 12 in the Royal Spyness mystery series.

Georgie is busy planning her wedding to Darcy, but is not sure where they will live because they have little money. She is happy when her godfather offers his estate to them to set up housekeeping because she will inherit it when he dies. Her godfather is seldom in residence as he travels around the world climbing mountains.

While Darcy is away on assignment, Georgie moves into the estate to get it ready for them after the wedding. Here she finds a surly and lazy staff. Is that because theyhave grown lax while the master of the house is away for long periods, or is something else going on? They are especially suspicious because there are mysterious deaths, both past and present. Georgie eventually gets to the bottom of it all, of course.

And after teasing us for a dozen books, Georgie and Darcy finally get married! :)

I didn't like this book as much as some of the others. As Georgie is trying to establish herself as mistress of the house with the servants, she is harsh, which is out of character for her. I understand why the author did that, but it didn't jive in my mind with the Georgie I knew. Other than that, it was another typical Royal Spyness book.

Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen, Adult mystery, 2019

This is # 13 in the Royal Spyness mystery series.

Georgie and Darcy are honeymooning in Happy Valley, Kenya, an upper-class English settlement. They are staying with a friend of a friend and are invited to the social engagements of the locals. It seems as if everyone has slept with or been married to most everyone else there, and everyone seems to have a beef with someone, especially the earliest English settler in the area. So when he ends up dead, everyone is a suspect. 

As it turns out, it's a working honeymoon of sorts, as Darcy had been sent there on a secret mission. There are multiple underworld elements at play, complicating the whodunit part of the story, but Georgie eventually puts two and two together and solves the murder.

I didn't like this one very much. I didn't enjoy reading about the wild parties and sexual exploits (not graphic) and the attitudes the English had about the native peoples. As well as their view of the wildlife. It was all appropriate for the time period, but I didn't enjoy it.

As it turns out, this was more like a historical mystery. Many of the characters in the book were based on real people, including the man who was murdered. And, BTW, they were famous for the wild parties in real life. 

Until next time...

Bread

Ward's Grandmother Leanna

 Ward's grandmother, Leanna, suffered enormous tragedy in her young family's life. Her husband went down on a ship in the Atlantic during WWII, never to be seen again, and a few months later, her 7-year-old son died from a playground accident. I can't even imagine what she went through.

She told me once that as she was trying to cope with these devastating events, a doctor told her she needed to do something for herself. She needed to buy herself something frivolous that she didn't need. She took his advice, and it helped. Over the years, she kept up the tradition and made sure to get herself something that wasn't absolutely necessary each year. She applied that same philosophy to the gifts she gave.

So, when she gave me $200 for Christmas one year, I was instructed to buy something that I wouldn't normally buy but would enjoy. I was at a loss about what to do, since I wasn't a big shopper and tended to shop pragmatically when I did. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to get myself a bread machine. This was over 30 years ago, and bread machines were relatively new. Having a machine produce freshly baked bread sounded like a guilty pleasure, indeed. (And yes, back then, they were new enough that they did cost $200).

Our Panasonic Bread Machine still works like new.

We have used the bread machine on and off over the years, but until recently, we hadn't used it for a long time. Last week, I had a hankering for fresh bread, so I tried making a loaf. I forgot to add the salt, so it wasn't very good. I tried again. This time, I made sure to add the salt. It was okay, but like the first loaf, it didn't rise much. The yeast was new, so I looked at the bread flour I was using, and it expired in 2021. Maybe that was the culprit. It doesn't seem like flour should get old, but I guess it does.

One more time, I tried making a loaf of bread with fresh King Arthur bread flour and fresh yeast. Bingo! We got a delicious loaf of bread.  Ward and I promptly had several slices of it, buttered. Delicious!

Success!

Now that I finally have the basics in place again, I think it's time to experiment with different kinds I remember making a long time ago. We're usually not big bread eaters, but the newfound interest in the bread machine may change that.

Thank you, Leanna, for making me get something that I would never have gotten without your encouragement. And for something that we are still enjoying all of these many years later.

Until next time...

Pictures

Here are a few pictures of what's been happening at my house lately.

Until a few days ago, our backyard looked like this. This was 3 weeks after our snow and ice storm. In this area, we're not used to snow sticking around for that long.

That may be why I made this impulse buy at Costco. The $10 doormat was speaking to me. It reminded me that spring is coming.

In the meantime, my Christmas/Thanksgiving/Easter* cactus started to bloom after a year of dormancy. That sated my need for flowers for the time being. 
*Distinctions without a difference in my book.

And what better winter activity is there than knitting? Here's another felted purse I made. This one had a lot of improvising as I used up the ends of yarn. I used every last bit I had of these colors. I still may add a magnetic clasp and a decorative button. However, it may be felted too tightly to add the magnetic clasp. 

Last night, Ward went into the store for milk and came out with milk and roses. They were on sale since it was after Valentine's Day. That was a nice surprise.

And yesterday, it rained all day and melted much of the snow. Now, our backyard looks like this. We still had to use the digging bar to break up the ice and snow on our front walk, but it is now cleared off. Yay!

Until next time...

Happy Valentine's Day

 We have no special traditions or expectations for Valentine's Day here. Some years, we go out to dinner. Sometimes, there are flowers or a card, and sometimes, the day passes without much notice. This will be one of those years. We agreed that we weren't going to do anything to celebrate this year, because we've been too distracted by other things. So today, the plan is a doctor's appointment, laundry, and swing dance practice. 

However, this morning, I am remembering Valentine's Days when Wally and Theo were young. Oh, how I hated the valentines that they had to hand out at school. Neither of them had good fine motor skills, and preparing Valentines for their class was torture for both them and me. However, we all survived. 

I am also remembering Wally's third-grade Valentine's Day party at school. It was an interesting afternoon as I watched the girls and boys behave very differently. I've shared this story here before, but I'm going to do it again below. In the meantime, I hope you have a good day today, whether it is filled with hearts and chocolates or laundry. 😀

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Boys vs. Girls—You Choose 

 Before I had kids, I thought that each child was an individual, and I didn't believe much in gender stereotypes in children. Little boys ran and jumped a lot because that's the kind of games they were taught. Little girls played with dolls because that was the kind of toys they were given. I thought that if all kids, regardless of gender, were exposed to the same things, they would have the same tendencies. Then I spent some time in the real world of kids and figured out that I was wrong. Possibly, there were some differences between boys and girls. From time to time, I'm going to share some of my experiences that led me to this conclusion. However, so as not to bias you, I'm going to let you guess who the boys are in the stories and who the girls are.

 Today's Story 

The Event: Wally's Third Grade Valentine Party

The Scene: The kids were seated around tables and naturally grouped themselves into two groups, with all boys on one side and all girls on the other side.

The Action: One group was carefully reading each Valentine and talking about who liked whom. The other group was seeing how many Red Hot cinnamon candies they could stuff in their mouth before their mouth burned too much. 

You choose: Which group was the boys and which was the girls?

Until next time...

Long Time, No Blog

 I am determined to check in before another day goes by. There's been a lot of something and a lot of nothing going on here.

Bluebirds are making a daily appearance at our feeder now. (Two males)

First was the big snow and ice storm. We spent time preparing beforehand, and luckily didn't have to deal with the worst-case scenarios we had prepared for. However, the snow and ice, coupled with frigid temperatures, made going out treacherous. The main roads are clear now, but still have narrowing from snow pileups on the sides. Our walks are not clear. It takes a heavy digging bar to break through the ice on top, so they may stay covered for a while.

A female bluebird on the flower box.

In the meantime, my father-in-law had to go to the hospital. The neighbors did heroic feats to clear enough snow and ice to get into the house and clear a path for the emergency responders. A firetruck actually came before the ambulance to clear snow so it could get down the unplowed street. The good news is that after a week in the hospital, he is home and improving. Now, there is a whirlwind of activity getting services in place, going to doctor appointments, etc. A million details are being worked out, but the process is not conducive to a calm mind and restful sleep.

I find that when there is downtime, I want to do nothing. And what that looks like is a little reading, knitting, and video watching. Forward progress on other things will just have to wait for a little while until things settle down. 

Until next time...